Marshmallow Extinguisher

Remember...

Only YOU Can Prevent Campfire Boredom

A marshmallow extinguisher is an active fire enjoyment device used to roast small marshmallows, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on real fires that endanger your safety (if your house is on fire, get out). 

Typically, a marshmallow extinguisher consists of a hand-held stick containing an agent (marshmallows) that can be roasted to extinguish a boring afternoon or evening. While the marshmallow extinguisher has been designed for indoor use, it can also be used at campfires should someone insist upon singing the following song: 

    HISTORY 

The first marshmallow extinguisher of which there is any record was utilized by the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the movie Ghostbusters. 

Stay Puft is a large white humanoid figure made of conjoined marshmallows. He wears a sailor hat with a red ribbon attached on top, and a blue hatband. Around his neck is a blue traditional sailor's collar and a red neckerchief.

When asked why he roasted his "own kind," the Stay Puft marshmallow man simply replied, "Yum!"

Marshmallowbalism (from Marshmallowes, the Spanish name for Marsh-Carib people, a West Indies tribe formerly well known for their practice of marshmallowbalism) is the act or practice of Marshmallow Men eating a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, and gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavorings, and sometimes coloring, whipped to a spongy consistency. The marshmallow is a modern version of a medicinal confection made from Althaea officinalis, the marshmallow plant. 

The traditional marshmallow recipe uses gelatin in its manufacture, which vegans avoid, as it is derived from animal hides and bones. 

Thus, if you are vegetarian and wish to partake of the marshmallow roasting experience, you might consider the following low-cost alternative: 

Notably most marshmallow emergencies occur around the campfire or in sleepovers as a backyard tradition in North America whereby the roasting or toasting of a marshmallow happens over an open flame. A marshmallow is placed on the end of a stick or skewer and held carefully over an open flame.

This creates a carmelized outer skin with a liquid, molten layer underneath. Depending upon ones marshmallow roasted preference, the marshmallow can be heated to various degrees - from gently toasted to charred.

Finally, the roasted marshmallow can be either eaten whole or the outer layer can be removed, eaten separately, and then the remaining marshmallow can be toasted again (my favorite technique).

The next time you have a roasted marshmallow emergency, be sure to reach for a marshmallow extinguisher, which could save your camping party from extreme boredom. 

Remember... Only YOU

Can Prevent Campfire Boredom

ROAST A MARSHMALLOW

TODAY!